Pavin Parks made his third start of the season for Evansville. He pitched into the third inning, allowing five runs. But the Otters had fight as the middle innings approached.
The Otters got on the board in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly from Logan Brown to score JT Benson. They added another run in the fifth with a Dennis Pierce solo home run to center.
Ryan Wiltse followed Parks in the third and pitched through five excellent innings. He allowed just two hits and struck out eight through his first five innings.
JT Benson struck for his eighth home run in the seventh, cutting the Mississippi lead to 5-3.
Wiltse worked into the eighth inning, but the Mud Monsters finally started to figure him out. He allowed two runs to score to extend Mississippi’s lead to 7-3 before Nolan Thebiay finished off the eighth with a strikeout.
The Otters didn’t lie down quietly though. They sent nine to the plate and scored three in the eighth. L. Brown reached with his third hit of the game followed by a Parks Bouck walk. JJ Cruz singled to score Brown to open the inning’s scoring. After Pierce singled for his fourth hit of the night and loaded the bases, Graham Brown hit a sacrifice fly to score Bouck and advance both runners forward. David Mendham walked and Benson walked in a runner to cut the score to 7-6.
After Thebiay got an out but allowed two baserunners, Alex Valdez came in and induced an inning ending double play to send the game to the home half of the ninth.
The Otters couldn’t manage a run in the ninth however and fell 7-6.
Evansville travels to Schaumburg to take on the Boomers on Independence Day to kick off the weekend set. After an off-day Monday, they travel to Washington to take on the division leading Wild Things.
